Overseeing a small island dominated by a castle, seals and a pub, an English council is searching for a new king or queen. Claimants to the ancient throne, carved from old oak and soaked in the beer of coronations past, can apply for the job through the local government’s website. The job listing, posted this week by the Barrow Borough Council in Cumbria, is technically seeking someone to run the pub on Piel Island, half a mile off England’s northwestern coast. Winters are wet, travel is limited and an eccentric tradition of naming a king survives at the island’s old pub. “We’re talking about a small and very isolated island in the north of England.”

Source: New York Times January 22, 2022 17:20 UTC